COPS SEIZE 800 MARIJUANA PLANTS AND ARREST MAN

Narcotics detectives seized more than 800 marijuana plants from greenhouses in Julian and arrested the property owner, authorities said Wednesday.

Deputies and members of the San Diego Narcotics Task Force served a search warrant at an Oak Lake Lane home, off state Route 79, on Sept. 25. They found a sophisticated pot-growing operation in three large greenhouses near the residence, sheriff’s Lt. Hank Turner said.

Paul Hage Sedlock, 43, was arrested on suspicion of cultivation and sales of marijuana. Sedlock was booked into jail and later released on bail.

He had been arrested by San Diego police on April 22 on suspicion of marijuana sales and related charges, said Steve Walker, a spokesman for the District Attorney’s Office. That case has remained under review with no charges filed, Walker said.

Pauline Repard • U-T

Drum of chemicals explodes, prompting 55 evacuations

San Diego

About 55 people were evacuated from businesses in the Morena neighborhood Wednesday afternoon when a drum of epoxy exploded at a store that sells fiberglass supplies, San Diego fire officials said.

Firefighters and a hazardous materials team were called about 1:15 p.m. after people in the area reported a strong smell of chemicals.

The odor was coming from Fiberlay Inc. on Custer Street, where a 55-gallon drum inside a storage shed had blown its lid, said fire department spokesman Maurice Luque.

He said the epoxy apparently got contaminated by another substance, creating a chemical reaction that heated the hardening agent to about 300 degrees. When the drum exploded, some of the molten epoxy sprayed around the shed interior, then hardened, Luque said.

Five employees were evacuated from the business while it was aired out. The toxic substance irritates sinuses, fire officials said.

“I can taste the smoke,” said Dan Genovese, an employee at Morena Storage, near Fiberlay.

Hazardous materials crews took the drum outside so it could cool. Luque said there were fears that if the drum had continued to heat up, it would cause a larger explosion and perhaps involve other chemicals being stored in the same shed.

Ana Ceballos & Lyndsay Winkley • U-T

Man, 63, who died in traffic collision was from Escondido

Escondido

A motorist who died in an Escondido collision on Sunday has been identified by authorities as 63-year-old Vidal Carrillo.

Carrillo, an Escondido resident, drove his pickup through a red light at Midway Drive and Washington Avenue, and was struck by another pickup, authorities said.

Carrillo’s truck spun out of control and hit a pole, the Medical Examiner’s Office said. He suffered major head injuries and was taken to Palomar Medical Center, where he died Sunday night.

Police said the other driver, a 19-year-old man, and one of his two passengers suffered minor injuries but did not go to a hospital.

Pauline Repard • U-T

Gunman forces employees to the floor, robs Burger King

el cajon

A man armed with a gun walked into an El Cajon Burger King and forced two employees to lie on the floor during a robbery early Wednesday morning.

The thief entered the restaurant on North Johnson Avenue near Fletcher Parkway through an open back door about 1:30 a.m., police Lt. Mike Moulton said.

The robber confronted the workers with a revolver and took an unknown amount of money, Moulton said.

The man was described as Latino and in his 20s, wearing a Padres baseball hat and a dark bandanna over his face. No vehicle was seen.